Shady’s Back

It’s been three months to the day since the Olympic final and my correspondence has been low, but I have been eagerly engaged in varying activities and research and I look forward to sharing that with you. Some of the stuff I’ve been tinkering with is.

- Intermittent fasting.

- Phil Maffetone’s “Maximal Aerobic Pace” (MAP)

- Heart Rate Variability training (HRV)

- Carb cycling/cyclical ketosis

- Kettlebell training

- Nutrient timing

- Hemp protein

- Intensity vs duration

- Calories cycling

- Cold thermogenesis

- Arm/leg bike training

- Minimalist running shoes

- Mind/body method of training programming

- The paradigm of training as a specific stimulus

- Pose Running.

- Flow state

- Nootropics

- Minimalism

- Single speed mountain biking

- A failed altitude tend experiment.

I did return from the U.S.A. under 100kg (99.something), but not before peaking at 102. I contemplated the idea of managing my diet whilst in America, but the opportunity to ingratiate myself with some of my old favorites proved a better idea. America is the ideal place to eat both healthily. There are always a plethora of nutritiously sound options, but the magnitude of ridiculous hand-brake food-stuffs is just silly. I had both. Also, when you are reunited (after 6 years) with a sandwich that is named after you, you are compelled to eat it. When presented with All-You-Can-Eat buffet in Las Vegas, you do not entertain the notion of moderation. For those of you that have had In and Out Burger, you know, you eat it. In and Out Burger only has a few items on the menu. Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers, Double Cheeseburgers, Fries and the traditional Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry thick shakes. I had them all.

I spent plenty of time here. The very impressive Princeton Tiger's erg room.

So, my vascularity momentarily disappeared, my stomach reached peak quadrennial flaccidity and my right foot recoiled in horror as my running progressively crushed it into submission and subsequently ruled me out of participating in the Melbourne Marathon in any meaningful capacity (therefore not at all). In the couple of months I’ve been back in Australia I’ve returned to my Olympic weight of 91-92kgs. An ongoing curiosity of mine will be to continue to tinker with the composition of my body around that same weight. The weight itself isn’t of great significance – just a reference. I’m more interested in whatever weight is best to achieve my goals, whether that be heavier or lighter. The end game with all of these varying nutritional and training practices is to figure out what does and does not work. That’s what I’m searching for and getting closer to. I’m also a bit peculiar, so it’s a hobby for me. I encourage you all to use personal intuition in combination with external information to figure out what works for best for YOU.

I love this place. I wish they were everywhere. Oaklands Park, Adelaide.

For me, in the last two months, I’m eating more dietary fat than I ever had before and have (not regularly, but on specifically timed occasions) power-eaten at All-You-Can-Eat Pizza Hut, a planned McDonalds relapse that included 3 x Cheeseburgers, 20 x Nuggets, 1 x Grand Angus, 1 x Large Fries, 1 X Chocolate Shake, 1 x McFlurry, 1 x Chocolate Sundae and 1 x full-strength Sprite (I didn’t feel well) and a couple of feedings that looked a little like 1 x pack of Tim Tams, 1 x box of Cheetos, 4 x Magnum ice-creams, 4 x Four and Twenty meat pies. Now, it must be said that these are regularly irregular and I’m as interested in how my body and performance responds to these over-feeds as I am in eating the actual food. Both provide enjoyment in different way. I also have strategies to manage and benefit from meals like these – it is very rarely unplanned. These also only exist as part of a plan that doesn’t normally look like this or include any of these foods. In due time I’ll explain what purpose this serves and how I go about it.